Monday, March 31, 2014

Well, hello! Here we are back for a peek at another new stamp set from the amazingly talented Marcella. We got you all astir yesterday with some Azalea awesomeness but today we are going to just hang back and chill...

With on-trend typography designed by Marcella Hawley, Good Thinking: Renewal will end your search for "just the right" rejuvenating words! This all-sentiment set measures 4" by 6" and is loaded with 16 images. Take a deep breath in, exhale out and stamp up some serenity. Now doesn't that just feel better?

For my card today I chose to use the beautifully scripted quote as my main image. I built the card around this quote. I made my own pattern by determining the size of my sun ray panel..which in this case was 3 3/4" x 5" . I then made a template by trimming a piece of copy paper the dimensions of the panel I wanted then used a ruler to draw my lines starting from the bottom left corner and radiating out. Next, I cut all of the pieces out like a puzzle and used some temporary adhesive to adhere these pieces down to my patterned papers (an excellent opportunity to use up all of those scraps that you just can't bring yourself to throw away) and trimmed them out. Next, I sponged some white craft ink on my pieces then adhered them to a panel of card stock the same dimensions as my copy paper template was. Next, came the stitching on my machine...which was an experience because I was having tension issues and it ended up knotting up on the back of my panel. But that is hidden and no one will be the wiser, right? It's actually kind of funny...tension issues on a relaxation card....only here folks! :) After my stitching of the main panel, I used a Spellbinder's circle die to cut out my sun and distressed it, then stitched it, then stamped my sentiment on it with some dark brown ink. I tied some canvas ribbon to my stitched panel then layered it with some brown and white card stock. The last things I did was adhere my sentiment to the card with foam dimensionals and tied a little bird charm I had squirreled away on the ribbon with a piece of twine.

This is the first time I have paper pieced a card panel like this, but I really like it, and it wasn't nearly as scary as I had it made up in my mind to be...lol! I am sure I will be doing more of these in the future...and hopefully my sewing machine will cooperate!

So, are you feeling relaxed? Ready to see some more zen like projects geared to make you feel renewed and rejuvenated? Well then, you are in luck because my incredibly talented Bloom Brigade team mates have got you covered! Go check out their amazing projects and make sure you spread the love by leaving them an uplifting word or two...

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Hello all! Welcome back for Day 3 of Power Poppy's Sneak Peeks for April's release. I think this may be a set that a lot of you have been waiting to see since you caught a glimpse of Marcella's sketchbook....am I right? I know the first time I laid eyes on this set I was completely blown away and I know you will be too! So, I certainly don't want to keep you in suspense for a moment longer.....

Sweeping and free, this set simply named Azalea is begging to be colored with reckless abandon. It could inspire an outrageous upsurge in your use of pink markers, colored pencils, and paint! Use the lush blooms of these images to let a friend know how much she is missed, or to say thanks to another who is just plain amazing! This 4" by 6" set was illustrated by hand with a whole lotta love by Marcella Hawley.

Being the Georgia girl that I am, I cannot tell you how much I love azaleas! I mean, come Spring, they are everywhere here...including at the Master's Golf Tournament in Augusta for you golf fans out there...one area of the course is called Amen Corner and it has some of the most beautiful azaleas in that area! In fact, we have our own "Amen Corner" in our yard complete with a few varieties of azaleas. One of my most favorites that we have planted here are called Indica Azaleas....they are the big variety with gorgeous blooms. They come in many colors...we have" G.G. Gerbing" (which are white) and "Formosa" (which are purple)...so I decided to color up this gorgeous image like my purple azaleas!

Ours are actually not in bloom right now so I had to do this from memory...which, in the 40's is not as great as it used to be, let me tell ya! Any ways, I stamped my image with Tuxedo Black ink on to white card stock and then colored it in with copics. Next, I fussy cut it out which took a wee little bit o' time but I think it was worth it. I then adhered it to my Spellbinders Labels Four panel that I had sponged some Ranger Distress ink in Tumbled Glass and of course....gold leafed using my leafing pen. You didn't think I would forego the gold leafing for this beautiful image, did ya? The rest of my card is really just a couple of simple panels...one that was embossed using an embossing folder and one panel that had some pretty patterned paper from Teresa Collins' 6x6 paper pad Fabrications "Canvas" and some stitching. I tied a white satin ribbon on the stitched panel, stamped my sentiment, and adhered everything together.

I cannot get over the gorgeous detail in this image....it really doesn't get any better than this and I can tell you this set is going to be one that I will treasure forever! :) So....

Doesn't that flower just make you swoon? Don't wait to exhale, breathe in the beauty and hop on over to see the rest of the Bloom Brigade!

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Well, hello there! I am so glad to see you back! Are you ready for a peek at Marcella's next stamp set? You are going to love this one....

Get that toe a-tapping, because this set will have you Celebrating Good Times -- Come On! Build up those Buttercups in your life. Tell the crazy chicks you hang with that they are way too Superfly! We can almost guarantee you'll break into song while you stamp these musical memories. Mix and match the sentiments and graphics to create combinations that will have your besties saying, "Word Up!" This 4" by 6" set -- Marcella's Mixtape Vol. 1 -- was hand-drawn from the wonderfully creative pen of Marcella Hawley.

Aren't these fun?! For my card today I chose to use the party horns and the Celebrate sentiment......can't you just hear Kool and the Gang? :)

I stamped my sentiment on some white card stock and sponged a little Ranger Distress ink in Wild Honey. Next, I created a little frame for my sentiment using some white, pink and blue card stock, some Spellbinders oval dies and a little basket weave embossing folder from Lifestyle Crafts and popped it up with some foam dimensionals. Next, I stamped those darling party horns with Tuxedo Black ink from Memento, colored them with Copics and fussy cut them out. I ended up only using two of the three horns but then decided to add this fun little die cut flourish that I covered in pink glitter. The rest of the card is a few more layers of card stock, some fun patterned papers from My Mind's Eye 6x6 paper pad "Happy Day" , and the card base which is a Spellbinder Grand Scallop Square die. I did add a bit of ribbon and sponged some white craft ink to add a little more interest.

Gah....I just love how Marcella's images have such personality...and the fonts are adorable! I know I'm ready for a party now! How about you? Got your groove on? So, now that you have a little tune stuck in your head, why not dance it out? Twist on over and see the rest of the Bloom Brigade! And make sure you check out the Power Poppy blog for a little note from Marcella....

Tomorrow's set is sure to take your breath away. It's a beautiful botanical that symbolizes the strength and beauty of women and this illustration is 100% Marcella Hawley! Stop on back to see for yourself! Til then...

Friday, March 28, 2014

Can you believe it?!? We are finally here! We have all been about to burst with all of the excitement for this new release. So without further ado, here is Springtime Love...

Our first Power Poppy set, hot off the presses, may have you hearing the alluring tones of a French accordion and whispering Ooh La La. Springtime Love is in the air and this set embodies romance -- with passionate petals and love-laced sentiments. Illustrated by Marcella Hawley as she went in for the kiss, this beauty of a set measures 4" by 6".

So what do you think? I think it is simply gorgeous, but honestly, I love all of Marcella's images so really no big surprise, right? :) My card today was actually inspired by a childhood memory...

When I was a little girl, my brother and I along with our cousins would spend a week each summer at our Grandparent's house. It was always a treat because....well, they spoiled us rotten for a week! But besides that, there was always something fun or interesting to explore or do. One of my favorite things was my Grandmother's old chifferobe...she had it stocked with all of her old church dresses, hats, shoes, and costume jewelry for all of the granddaughters to play dress up. Now, to a little girl, it was a treasure trove of goodies and the jewelry was my absolute favorite of all. Think back to all of that old costume jewelry of the 60's and 70's...chunky pearls, BIG brooches and dangle-y clip on earrings...now put all of that on an 8 year old girl and there I am...peeking out from under a "Sunday church hat" and decked out to the nines in chiffon and jewels! The big brooches were always so pretty...some with those epoxy centers with floral images in them, you know the ones I'm talking about? Well, that is where this card came from. I used the cracked glass technique to create my focal image with this gorgeous floral. There is a wonderful tutorial for this technique on Splitcoast Stampers' site here. My image was colored with Copics and then I started the gold leafing process (you know I can't resist that pen!) and added my die cut layers.

I wanted this to be a collage of things I remembered about Grandmama's treasures....there was definitely a lot of gold, pearls were in abundance, and there were ribbons on all of those fancy dresses. The tag, I made for my Grandmama.... for giving me all of those precious memories. I think the final card ended up looking like one of her many jewelry boxes...which was not planned, but it certainly is a sweet surprise!

I hope you are as excited about this new set as we are! Please make sure you check out what my incredibly talented Bloom Brigade team mates have created for you....I am sure it is amazing! And leave them a little blog love while you are there! I am so glad you could join me today for my first Power Poppy project and a little trip down memory lane. Thanks so much for stopping by! :)

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Hi there everybody! I am so glad you could stop by for a peek today! It has been quite busy around here with all of the preparations for YOU! We cannot wait for you to see all of the beauty that Marcella has created for your stamping pleasure. I can tell you that these images are absolutely worth the wait! It is going to be so much fun for all of us to watch you fall in love with these images just as we already have.

Have you ever wondered just how these images come to be? Well, then today's post on the Power Poppy blog is one you cannot miss. Marcella is going to give you a peek inside her sketch book! I know, right? So why don't you just pop on over there and check out all of that creative goodness? Before you leave though, I thought I would share a tiny little sneaky peek at one of my upcoming projects.....

So head on over to the Power Poppy blog and feast your eyes on what is waiting for you over there! Thank you so much for stopping by today and I hope you can come back tomorrow for my first project! You take care and I'll see you soon....

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

With a little bit of the story of Power Poppy unveiled yesterday, today we get to share some of the "faces" that will help bring Power Poppy to full bloom! We affectionately call this fabulous and fierce team "The Bloom Brigade" because as you'll soon see - each one has a wild and beautiful facet that they bring with them to this very creative team! Want to learn a little more about this wildly talented force of artistic talent? Marcella asked each of us a question and many of them made us say... "Hmmmm...." Just click HERE to see for yourself!

Q: Morning Sunshine or Night Owl?

Oh, most definitely a Night Owl! I cannot tell you how many late nights I have
spent in the craft room with my little miniature longhaired dachshund, Baxter,
at my feet. Now, I am not saying that I
don’t enjoy a nice morning cup of coffee on the front porch listening to the
birds, but I am not one that jumps out of bed in the morning rarin’ to go! I am very fortunate that I have a wonderfully
supportive husband, Matt, that is very tolerant of my late night card making
escapades! When I am not card making by
the light of the moon, I do have a few other hobbies that I indulge
in…gardening, cross stitching, cooking, reading, or just hanging out with my
guys. If it’s football season, you will
find me most Saturdays watching college football….Go DAWGS! Yes, I am a Georgia girl and I have the
accent to prove it! I am beyond ecstatic
to be a part of Power Poppy and work alongside all of these amazingly talented
and big hearted ladies! I can’t tell you
what an honor and privilege it is for me to represent this wonderful company.
Add the fact that I get to work with these gorgeous images and you have one very happy girl!

These wonderfully dynamic women all have different "sides" to their lives! See what makes their creativity click! Learn a little more as you hop on over and see.....

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

For the past ten days the fabulous and fierce Bloom Brigade (a.k.a. the Power Poppy Design Team) has been busy suggesting all kinds of fun and downright goofy things to get you moving and grooving to the Power Poppy beat. Behind the scenes, we've been sweating the details, keeping it real, and loving every minute of it. While you can see a sneaky peek of what's to come above in the days ahead, today the mistress of ceremonies, Marcella Hawley herself is going to tell you all a little story -- HER story -- of how this beautiful company came to be! Be sure to stop by HERE to read all about it!!

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Hi there everybody! I hope you have had a great week so far! It has been quite busy around here, let me tell you. I have certainly got Spring Fever...I am so ready to see some pretty spring flowers. I hope you are getting a thaw out wherever you are! So are you ready for another Timeless Tuesday Challenge? Well, this week I am your hostess and I chose a theme very near and dear to my heart!

Uh huh.....GOLD! If you have seen many of my projects then you know that me and my Krylon 18KT Gold Leafing pen are quite an inseparable pair, so I thought it might be fun to see what you all do adding gold to your projects! You can read all of the details here.

So, for my card this week I just had to use the beautiful Tulips for Friends set. I guess it is wishing on my part that I will actually see some of these soon! :) I stamped my image using Memento's Tuxedo Black ink on to Flourishes Classic White card stock and then colored it in with Copics. Then, I simply added several layers of die cut card stock and designer paper using Spellbinders Classic Squares and a Marianne Designs die set. I gold leafed two of the layers and sanded the edges to allow a little more white to peek through.

I was going to add a sentiment to it, but then decided at the last minute to leave it plain so I could use it for whatever occasion I needed a card. I did also sponge a little white craft ink around the edges to distress it a bit and that is it...no embellishments what so ever...well, except for the gold leafing! :)

At first if felt a little odd not having a sentiment on it, but it is starting to grow on me. So, I hope you are going to be inspired to create your own project with a "touch of gold" but before you do....please check out what my teammates have created for you...I am sure there is plenty of beauty and inspiration for you! Don't forget to link up your project and play along with us! I am so glad you could stop by today and I can't wait to see what you create for this challenge! Take care and I hope you stop by again soon!

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Hi there everybody and welcome to another Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge! This week, our hostess is the wonderfully talented Deborah and the theme is "It's a Wash".

Love this adorable play on words! We are supposed to use Washi tape somewhere on our projects. You can read all of the details here.

I must admit, I am not a big Washi tape user....in fact, I had to go buy some for this challenge! I actually bought a few rolls. I started with one and then I changed my entire game plan midstream when I saw some other tapes on a recent trip to our local craft store. (Quit laughing, Jenny!) It's not that I don't like Washi...in fact, I have seen some adorable things done with it....it's just I can never think of what to do with it once it gets in my hands! When I saw this really graphic black and white striped tape, it reminded me of some of the papers from the My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Two "Sunshine" 6 x 6 paper pad...which incidentally, I just happened to still have some of those papers squirreled away and then that started me thinking about those adorable vintage phones in the Call Me stamp set. Strangely enough, this is how most of my cards come to be....I guess we all have our own little process we go through when we create.

As I was mulling this over in my head, I thought about making the image panel resemble a rotary phone dial and that is when I remembered having these cute little epoxy number stickers from K & Company....they actually came over on the Mayflower. Ok, well maybe I haven't had them that long, but it's been quite a while...back when I first started to scrapbook which I haven't done in several years. I used a Spellbinders Classic Circle die to cut out two circles out of Flourishes Classic Ivory card stock...I punched a series of holes in the first one, then stamped my image. Then I joined the two circles together and placed my number stickers in the holes and miracle of miracles, they were a perfect fit! Then I stamped my image again and fussy cut the phone out. I colored everything in with my Copics then I adhered everything on the image panel together matting it with a Spellbinder's Scallop circle die cut from black card stock. I did a little stitching on the side panel, distressed all of my layers with Ranger Distress ink in Antique Linen and Vintage Photo, assembled my layers and then added that striped bit of Washi tape. I did score a little border on the top before I stamped my sentiment to finish off the top edges, added my ribbon, adhered the phone dial panel with foam dimensionals and I was done!

Is that phone image not the cutest thing, ever? I mean, seriously... Oh, I did add a little sparkle to dial of the phone image using my Atyou Spica clear glitter pen and some Ranger Glossy Accents for the tea in the mug to make it look like liquid. The photos don't show that detail but it is there. So.....are you ready to go pull out your Washi tape and make your own creation? Well, before you do make sure you check out what my team mates have put together for you. I know you will get some serious inspiration from them...then, get to making your own creation and play along with us! I am so glad you could stop by and I'll be looking for your creations this week! Take care and I hope you have a great week! Until next time....

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Hi there everyone and happy Tuesday Wednesday! :) Here we are for another Timeless Tuesday Challenge, the wonderfully talented Allison is our hostess and the theme this week is "Mask"eurade! That's right....today we get to either mask off part of our project or use a stencil or if you really want to get into it, you can do both! You can read all of the details here.

Ok, so lately these challenges have really been pushing me out of my little comfort zone of card making....which is a good thing, but it really makes me nervous to then have to turn around and put it out there for everyone to see...lol! I would like to say that I only made this card once but...there was indeed a little mishap with my embossing folder, soooo this is actually card #2. For this card, I used the adorable Wild for Watermelon set. I thought it might make a really cute edge for the side of my card. I also used an embossing folder to give embossed edges which created a little channel for my masked image strip. There are a lot of great products out there for masking, but I do this technique so infrequently I just use good ol' Post It notes plus some extra removable adhesive and they work great for me! I first masked off the strip so I could stamp my watermelons using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Then, I added masks for my watermelons so I could stamp my seeds. Next, I removed the masks from the watermelons (leaving the masks along the edges) so I could color my images. After the coloring was done, I sponged on some Ranger Distress ink in Mowed Lawn to give the image strip a little more dimension. After that I removed the masks from the edges to reveal my finished strip.

The rest of the card came together super quick....I stamped my sentiment, tied on a little twine and a button and then layered my panel with some gingham paper and then some black card stock and that was it! Another CAS card.....maybe I am starting to get the hang of them! I really like the embossed edge on both sides of the images!

Well, that is all for my masked card this week! I hope you got some inspiration here to create your own...but before you do, please check out what my team mates have created for you! I am sure there are amazing things for you to see...and make sure you leave them a little blog love while you are there! Also, make sure you link up your creation to the Flourishes site....I can't wait to see what you come up with! :) I am so glad you could stop by today...you take care and I'll be seeing you again soon!

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FTC Disclosure Statement

In the spirit of full disclosure, I currently work as a freelance designer in some capacity for the following company: Power Poppy. While I am compensated by this company, either monetarily or in product, I still maintain the freedom as an independent designer to say what I truly think of their products. I will never recommend something that I don't personally use and enjoy.